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kicks off shortly
looks very dry and fast
though looks quite damp now ! 🙂
Anywhere I can watch online for free?
I'm calling it for MvdP.
WvA been more consistent and won more this year, but I think MvdP can always pull it out for the big races. Plus he'll have been able to rest his back etc. so can go all in.
Shame, I'm a WvA fanboi normally 😎
Edit: Fem van Empel for the women's? Think Puck Pieterse is a better bet for tech and mud?
Anywhere I can watch online for free?
there's a uci "live" stream on youtube but an hour or so behind.
Anna Kay the lone GB rider in this one.
Shame that Vos isn't riding.
What's up with GCN?
Supposed to be on Eurosport but still showing skiing. Watching it on iPlayer.
Just a loop of red white and blue on GCN.
the drone footage is nuts
Almost makes up for the commentary
That live drone footage through the woods is AMAZING.
The static camera at the end showing 4 riders and then a little drone following them. 🙂
BBC showing it on iPlayer
Thank you. I've found it on BBC1 red button.
GCN have sorted themselves out and Ian Field/Helen Wyman commentating.
That just turned into a procession - honestly, the fact that the gaps ended up being so large was really rather dull.
Hats off to the riders, I'm not denying the incredible athleticism and skills but as a spectacle, it left a bit to be desired.
Yeah I get you, the gaps were bigger than is fun to see. Impressive performance but not a great viewing
Well I thought they were 3 great races. Looking forward to more tomorrow.
I’m calling it for MvdP
I think so too - parcours is not hard enough for Wout to crush souls. Vice versa no way is any human riding Wout off the wheel. But I reckon vdP can find a way to win in a patient race.
much drier today in u23 ladies, come on Zoe!
it's absolutely rammed !
Excellent ride from Zoe 🙂
Love watching these guys bunny hop the planks. We have a bridleway locally with something similar, but it’s a dismount and carry for me.
The speed is crazy there flying around.
Look at the crowds, that's insane!
They're racing CX faster than I do a normal road ride. 😳
It's just mental.
What a finish! The power output for those last few hundred metres must have been immense, after all the efforts and incredible pace they’ve held for 10 laps.
Legendary rivalry between those two.
brutal sprint, just a slight hesitation and it's lost!
The sprint was interesting - one on the hoods, one on the drops. That power output must have been insane, could see the effort.
Strada bianca esque! oh the classics are going to be epic 🙂
Fantastic race!
And Cam Mason in 9th.
Oh and GCN commentary team have done a fantastic job.
Just leaving Hoogerheide on a coach. What a day and weekend. Thoroughly recommend it to anyone. Frites, beers, techno music and 2 of the best riders of their generation. The Dutch are the soundest of people also.
Very happy Matthieu won but Wout is a great competitor I'd have been just as delighted if he got top spot.
What a race, MVdP totally out thought Wout...disappointed Alverado didnt make the podium but with Beskstadt and then MVdP winning I am happy!!
Heavy Rat...very jealous!!
Thought Wout should've gone for a longer one - MvdP has such a big jump from low speed
Women's elite - pretty predictable I guess
"minor" races were pretty good, I thought (and ZB was very impressive but then so was van Anrooij - those two plus the "big" two should be great in the next few years). Nys only just 20 as well, I thnk
Oh and GCN commentary team have done a fantastic job.
Ian and Helen are great. I've warmed to Jeremy too.
https://twitter.com/JohndenBraber/status/1622235862149857280?t=XA99VnS70UwDMtpWBY4C6w&s=19
Dislocated finger?
Not a problem 🤢
*Don't look if you're squeamish!
The races this weekend were fantastic, nice to see the top two knocking lumps out of each other in both the mens and women's elite races. I think the Classics season this year is going to be epic!
The drone footage through the trees was great as well, really gives you a sense of the speed these guys and girls were riding.
Loved the way they were playing with each other in the last lap.
Lovely course although the hardcore fans aren't happy unless there is a prolonged run through a knee deep bog.
Drones were ace, there's a few spots on the XC world cup that would hugely benefit from similar. Hope discovery are paying attention.
For those who enjoyed the drone footage you might like this
It's in Flemish but you can use Google translate to flip the text on the page and well just enjoy the videos. It seems like it was quite unusual to be able to do it because they needed a 15 second gap between people in order to be allowed to run the drone. I'm guessing they were lucky that Pidcock wasn't there as otherwise he might have been in that gap.
As this is a MTB website/ forum, it's disappointing more pure XC racers don't do 'Cross, however, I can see why they don't. Mainly flat, non technical courses aren't really going to attract them - it's all about pure power. U23 XCO World champion Line Burquier just didn't have the power on that course to do anything; earlier in the season she had beaten both Van Anrooij & Backstedt in Namur at the Euros on a climbing course.
And 5 of the 6 winners are already on road/ development teams; CX is a breeding ground for road racing, not MTB. Very few top XC racers have had a successful background racing 'Cross. Evie is the rarity with 2 U23 World titles, and PFP won an Elite World title.
Both Van Empel & Pieterse have the Olympic MTB race as their big goal; it will be interesting to see how they get on this season in MTB World Cups; Puck in the Elites, and Fem probably in the U23s.
At some point in the future we’ll look back at this period as one of the greatest - Matthieu already acknowledges that it having to race Wout is what is driving him, most others frankly aren’t really in the race. We haven’t had this level of rivalry since Nys and Gronendaal, but they loathed each other and didn’t cover themselves in glory.
True. I loved that they didn't just process to the end and then sprint it out, they raced the whole hour. It was fantastic to watch. It eased up a little towards the end as they started to play out the finish rather than burn each other off but it was incredible
Wout van Aert on Twitter: "I hate it but I love it 🥲 https://t.co/EjNv9z7Bi L" / Twitter
And 5 of the 6 winners are already on road/ development teams; CX is a breeding ground for road racing, not MTB. Very few top XC racers have had a successful background racing ‘Cross. Evie is the rarity with 2 U23 World titles, and PFP won an Elite World title.
We know MvdP and Pidcock are top class MTB racers, but they don't because road racing pays.
What do the upper mid table cross riders do in the Summer? Is there much of an overlap? If you're not good enough for WT/ProConti (or whatever it's called this year), would you be competitive in WC XCO?
Genuine questions, I don't follow WC XCO.
What do the upper mid table cross riders do in the Summer?
The likes of Eli Iserbyt dabble in mid level conti stuff, as a way to build the massive base that's required for a whole winter of thrashing yourself into the ground a couple of times a week - other than the rest periods they have within the racing calendar, still racing, but not full gas.
non technical courses
You should try riding them at half the speed they do! Also check out the Holst course.
Eli Iserbyt had a dabble in XCO last year and suggested he had the 2024 Olympics in mind but either wasn't in great shape and/or injured so was way down the pack in Albstadt.
No idea if he's doing any more this year.
Fantastic race between WVA and MVDP but the true winner was the Canadian guy who dislocated his finger on the first lap and popped it back himself and carried on racing.
Very few top XC racers have had a successful background racing ‘Cross.
Apart from the 2022 Men's world CX champ maybe?
You know the one that also placed 4th at the 2022 XC World champs, 1st in the European XC Champs, Won Gold for XC in Tokyo, and was previously UK U23 XC Champ for 2019 and 2020....
What's his name again? Tom something...